My students need 42 wonderful new books, like the Twilight series, "Ender's Game", and "Maximum Ride".
FULLY FUNDED! Ms. Atwill's classroom raised $588
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
"'Just remember--you teach students, not books.' This was the advice given to me by my assistant principal, right before I started my first year of teaching 10th grade English in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, where few of the children graduate high school, let alone attend college.
This advice played in my head over and over during my first day, as I tried--and instantly failed--to get my students excited about reading. So I switched gears, and asked my students about themselves. Suddenly, they had a lot to say! But even though they would write about their own lives, including their dreams of college, they didn't have much to say about what they would do once they got there. When I told them that, in most of my college classes, we just read books and talked about them, they balked.
"But Miss, I don't like reading!" was the general response.
Even though almost none of my brilliant students would admit to never reading books for fun, they did let me coax them into 'Independent Reading,' a fifteen-minute period at the start of every class where their directions were simple: Go to the bookshelf, grab a book, and READ! I had scoured the school building for books that would appeal to my ninety-two 10th graders, and had come up with about thirty titles. Every morning, my students jostled at the bookshelf, insisting that someone has stolen their copy of "Monster" or "The Gun." After the precious fifteen minutes of reading were finished, and I asked students to mark their books and return them to the shelf, I'd see at least one or two books getting slipped under the desks and into backpacks. I would have to gently remind the student that someone in Fifth Period was reading the same book, and take it away.
"Miss, can I take this one home?" It's nearly impossible to say no to a fifteen year old boy holding up a paperback, asking his English teacher if he can read more.
My students need books--but not just any books. They're starting to branch out from the "Urban Fiction" genre, and into the many different subjects that they could read in a college class.
The students and I made up a book "Wish List," and we are requesting the first 32 books on that list! The books span a wide range of reading levels and topics, to accommodate their wide-ranging interests (and future majors!). From sports to social injustice, from World War II to Ancient Rome, from the past, present, and future--these books are what my tenth graders want--and need--to read!
Increasing the size of our classroom library will allow them to take books home, to read on the bus instead of playing video games. They will be able to read for hours each night--exactly what they will have to do in college!
Giving my students access to these books will help them on their college applications, but more importantly, it will allow books and reading to be a part of their lives. Next time you see a teenage boy, imagine him sticking a book into his back pocket, excited to read it when he gets home. You can make this happen!
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
Twilight Saga Collection Stephenie Meyer
• Barnes and Noble
$53.95
1
$53.95
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide Series #1) Douglas Adams
• Barnes and Noble
$7.19
1
$7.19
Specials (Uglies Series #3) Scott Westerfeld
• Barnes and Noble
$8.99
1
$8.99
Crank Ellen Hopkins
• Barnes and Noble
$8.99
1
$8.99
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie, Ellen Forney (Illustrator)
• Barnes and Noble
$13.59
1
$13.59
The Burn Journals Brent Runyon
• Barnes and Noble
$11.16
1
$11.16
Keeper Mal Peet
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
Impulse Ellen Hopkins
• Barnes and Noble
$8.99
1
$8.99
Siddhartha (Barnes & Noble Classics) Hermann Hesse, Rika Lesser (Translator), Robert A. Thurman (Introduction), Robert A.F. Thurman (Introduction)
• Barnes and Noble
$2.41
1
$2.41
Exit Here. Jason Myers
• Barnes and Noble
$8.99
1
$8.99
The Vampire Diaries #1-2: The Awakening and The Struggle L. J. Smith
• Barnes and Noble
$8.99
1
$8.99
You Don't Know Me David Klass
• Barnes and Noble
$8.09
1
$8.09
Breathing Underwater Alex Flinn
• Barnes and Noble
$8.09
1
$8.09
Darkness Before Dawn (Hazelwood High Trilogy #3) Sharon M. Draper
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
Tears of a Tiger (Hazelwood High Trilogy #1) Sharon M. Draper
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
Forged by Fire (Hazelwood High Trilogy #2) Sharon M. Draper
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
First Part Last Angela Johnson
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman, Dave Mckean (Illustrator)
• Barnes and Noble
$11.69
1
$11.69
Push Sapphire, Ramona Lofton
• Barnes and Noble
$10.36
1
$10.36
Gym Candy Carl Deuker
• Barnes and Noble
$8.09
1
$8.09
Ball Don't Lie Matt de la Pena
• Barnes and Noble
$7.19
1
$7.19
The Basketball Diaries Jim Carroll
• Barnes and Noble
$11.20
1
$11.20
The Ear, the Eye and the Arm Nancy Farmer
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
In Cold Blood: A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences Truman Capote
• Barnes and Noble
$12.00
1
$12.00
If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me up and Ship Me Home Tim O'Brien, Luke Dempsey (Editor)
• Barnes and Noble
$11.16
1
$11.16
Crackback Coy
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
Shiver Maggie Stiefvater
• Barnes and Noble
$11.69
1
$11.69
Give a Boy a Gun Todd Strasser
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
Boot Camp Todd Strasser
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
If I Grow Up Todd Strasser
• Barnes and Noble
$13.59
1
$13.59
Can't Get There From Here Todd Strasser
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
Twisted Laurie Halse Anderson
• Barnes and Noble
$8.99
1
$8.99
Looking for Alaska John Green
• Barnes and Noble
$5.98
1
$5.98
Shattering Glass Gail Giles
• Barnes and Noble
$7.19
1
$7.19
All-Night Party (Fear Street Series) R. L. Stine
• Barnes and Noble
$5.39
1
$5.39
True Notebooks: A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall Mark Salzman
• Barnes and Noble
$13.45
1
$13.45
The Ender Quartet Box Set: Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead/Xenocide/Children of the Mind Orson Scott Card
• Barnes and Noble
$24.76
1
$24.76
Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride Series #1) James Patterson
• Barnes and Noble
$7.19
1
$7.19
Midnight Club Christopher Pike, Andrews, Patricia MacDonald (Editor)
• Barnes and Noble
$4.49
1
$4.49
Chain Letter Christopher Pike
• Barnes and Noble
$6.29
1
$6.29
Vampire Academy Box Set Richelle Mead
• Barnes and Noble
$20.24
1
$20.24
This May Help You Understand the World: The People and Facts Behind the Headlines Boyars
• Barnes and Noble
$10.91
1
$10.91
Materials cost
$424.18
Vendor shipping charges
$42.42
Sales tax
$0.00
3rd party payment processing fee
$6.36
Fulfillment labor & materials
$9.00
Total project cost
$481.96
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$105.80
Total project goal
$587.76
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$587.76
4 Donors
-$293.86
Donations toward project cost
-$241.00
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
-$52.86
match offer
-$293.90
Match offer toward project cost
-$241.00
Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Atwill and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
